The next day, Dane was nowhere to be seen. He usually came around in the mornings but no one saw him that day. No one talked about him. Was I the only one who knew he was dead? I thought about the previous’ day’s events all day. However much Maryanne tried to pressure me, I did not give her any details. The Dane issue was disturbing my mind.

The announcement was made during dinner time. The warrior who had shot Dane informed everyone that Dane was gone, although he didn’t specify what type of ‘gone’ he meant. People started whispering, wondering whether he meant that Dane was dead, had turned...